Eric T. Peterson and Zori Bayriamova today released the report “The Problem with Free Analytics, Risks and Recommendations for Companies Planning to
Standardize on a Free Web Analytics Solution”. They’ve found in their research that users of free tools are generally:

• more likely to work with web analytics on an ad hoc basis
• less likely to have integrated web analytics into their decision making process
• more likely to lack the resources they need in order to be successful (42% of respondents reported zero FTEs dedicated to web analytics)
• newer to the field (58 % of respondents have less than 2 years of experience)
• working for small businesses (52% of respondents work for companies with less than 50 employees)

Their recommendation is that companies that use free tools should spend the money saved on the tool on recruiting the right talents.

Disclaimer: The data is only based on users in the U.S.

To access this research, please visit http://www.webanalyticsdemystified.com/research/

My question when it comes to free web analytics solutions and those who use them is this:

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Do you lack resources because you have selected a free tool or do you select a free tool because you lack resources? I would be inclined to say it must be the latter. It could, however, also be an informed decision. Maybe the active choice to live up to the 10/90 rule (or the 10/20/70 rule for that matter)? But what if you spent zero dollars on the tool? Well, spend all your money on people and process instead!

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